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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. craft — boats
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rule — a law
  10. object — an aim
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. spell — magic
  14. hand — help
  15. craft — a skill
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. object — to protest
  18. spell — letters
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rule — government
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. object — a thing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com